BIG 12 waiting on naming additional members...Golf rallies to finish 5th...Pitino gets 19 point win over Pikeville

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THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-BIG 12 waiting on naming new conference members

-Women's golf finishes 5th in Vegas

-Men's Basketball downs Pikeville

Maybe they actually asked the remaining members which school(s) they'd
like to have join. Maybe Mitch McConnell, in raincoat and sunglasses, visited

Has the honorable Mitch McConnell boxed the Eers? 

the midwest. Maybe our article from yesterday got through to someone. Maybe 6 is 9.

In another wild and wacky twist to the soap opera known as conference expansion...the BIG 12 has put off a decision to add WVU to the gang and is now waiting to see if Missouri is going to join the SEC. The crawl line on ESPN
was cryptic and terse. WVU's move is on hold. Rebel forces from the Ohio Valley have made inroads on the main front and strongly object to the decision concerning the Mountaineers uniting forces with the allies. Louie the Cardinal Bird was seen strolling the Belknap Campus in a beret and humming "Country Roads." The I-64 bridge between Ashland, KY and Nitro, WVa. has been barricaded with couches and furniture in the east bound lanes...

Someone bring in General Patton.

Rick...please quit popping off about Owls and Tigers !

Someone put a gag order on Rick Pitino..who keeps singing the "I love Memphis and Temple" mantra. Just coach your team, coach. We don't need no stinking Owls messing things up. 

Really, Rick? Maybe you'd like to try your hand at global warming next. Or climb Mt. Everest. Maybe Charlie Strong should send Clint Hurtt and Pat Moorer over for a visit.

Maybe the BIG 12 rattle-shakers talked to a few folks who aren't real big fans of Morgantown mania on Football Saturdays. Like Pittsburgh or LSU. Like the rest of the staggering BIG EAST football members. Like anyone outside the state of West Virginia.

Maybe Missouri is having second thoughts about making the plunge into the SEC. (Maybe Missouri is crazy if they are...).

This, of course, circumvents the previous BIG 12 statement that WVU was in just as soon as formal approval was reached.

Formal approval...now there's a vague and nebulous phrase. (Hey, Pop..can I borrow the car? Son, you'll have to ask your mother - or the BIG 12 - for formal approval..) 

So...today's words to drool over are:

BIG 12 informs West Virginia that expansion plans are on hold.

"Hey, LOU! Who's in the BIG 12?"

Climb down off the bridges and tall buildings Cardinal football fanatics. The fat lady hasn't sung yet (she can't get the microphone away from Pitino) and looks like we'll go through another weekend of intrigue, speculation, heresy and rumor. 

Meanwhile, in Morgantown...couches are ablaze and any Cardinal fans thinking of making the journey there to watch Louisville play them in football on Saturday, Nov 5th. better make the journey in a Hum-V and carry an assault weapon for protection.

That's Breeders Cup weekend. Stay home and watch the ponies. By then, maybe we'll know if McConnell's on first, if Jurich is on second and if Pitino's on third. BIG 12 informs West Virginia that conference expansion plans are on hold. Say it with me one time. Sounds like the rejection form letter I got in the mail years ago when I applied for a job at Ford....

Meanwhile, in stuff we really care about...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO UofL head women's baketball coach Jeff Walz. If you see him at the Cardinal WBB kickoff luncheon tomorrow, bestow your blessings. He may be the only one left out there with any common sense...when it comes to decision making and avoidance of sticking foot in mouth.

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The University of Louisville women's golf squad rallied on the final day of tournament action in Las Vegas and finished fifth in the Las Vegas Inter-collegiate challenge. The final tallies: 

Tara Lyons                    final round 75     222 total     tied for 20th.
Anna-Karin Ljungstrom   final round 72     225 total     tied for 26th.
Emily Haas                   final round 79     226 total     tied for 31st.
Katie Petrino                final round 76     " " " " " "     "  "  "  "  "  "
Maria Castallanos         final round 82     227 total     tied for 36th.

The Cards also had three players competing as individuals in Vegas:

Sara Karlsson              final round 81     232 total      tied for 55th.
Maike Klein                 final round 84     "  "  "  "       "  "  "  "  '' " "
Candice Wiley             final round 82     242 total      tied for 80th.

Thus endeth the fall gold schedule for the Lady Cards. They'll swing back into action on Feb.20th. back in Nevada...at the UNLV Spring Tournament. Vegas, baby...wonder if any of them need a caddy?

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Cardinal men's hoops started the exhibition season out in the right way with a 74-55 defeat over Pikeville University. This one was over early...the Cards streaking out to a 16-0 lead to start the game. Pitino has some talented "bigs" on the team this year...freshman power forward Chane Behanan with 16 points, center Gorgui Dieng 14 points and 15 boards and tall guy Zach Price with several nice follow up tips for scores.

Maybe the season's start will keep Rick's mind off football for awhile....

nochoiceisachoice

Women's Golf records ninth place finish...Greenwell injured in 3X3

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WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Anna Karin Ljungstrom leads women's golf in tournament

-Greenwell tears ACL.

-What's your take?

The University of Louisville women's golf team began their fall season participating in the Ptarmigan Ram Classic in Fort Collins, CO. The five-iron
Cards finished ninth overall in the three day event.

UofL golfer Katie Petrino

Leading the way for Louisville was junior Anna Karin Ljungstrom. She fired a 228 for the meet...finishing with a final day 77. Maria Castellanos finished with a 229. The senior had a 79 to complete her 3rd round. Red shirt freshman Katie Petrino recorded a 230.

Also participating for Louisville were:

Tara Lyons - 232
Emily Haas - 232
Sara Karlsson - 232
Maike Klein - 245

Louisville returns home and will host the Wild Eggs Cardinal Cup next week at the Cardinal Club in Simpsonville. The two day event starts Monday Sept. 19th.

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Louisville women's basketball target and Owensboro Catholic junior Becca Greenwell has torn the ACL in her right knee while participating for the USA in the FIBA 3x3 Championships.

Early reports are that she does not have surgery scheduled yet...preferring to wait and find the best surgeon available for the operation.

Greenwell is ranked #5 in the ESPN Top 100 for 2013 and #2 at the guard position.

CARDINAL COUPLE staff columnist Jenny O' Bryan fills us in:

Becca reported to ESPN that she tore her ACL in the semi-final game of the USA Basketball Girls 3x3 Youth World Championships while playing Italy -in Italy- this past Sunday.

Becca was one of four USA high school girls chosen to play in Italy for the games. The USA had gone undefeated until Becca's injury, but were sidelined after that...since fellow USA player Taya Reimer was already suffering with an ankle injury. The remaining players...Linnae Harper and Kaela Davis took the Italians to overtime before falling 21-19. The USA squad was awarded an honorary bronze medal for their incredible effort on the court.

Becca had a tremendous summer - culminating with the invitation to play in Italy. She started earlier this year for the U16 team playing in Merida, Mexico and helped lead her squad to a gold medal. Greenwell was co-MVP for the tournament and had several record-breaking performances. After that, she joined her club team Tennessee Flight and was spectacular on the summer AAU circuit.

The Lady Cards are one of eight colleges vying for Becca's services.

Cardinal Nation wishes this star-in-the-making a swift and full recovery. WE look forward to more record-breaking stats coming from this young woman in the future. And maybe, just maybe, she will be wearing Cardinal Red while doing it...

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Just a few days away from the annual (for now) UofL vs. UK football game. CARDINAL COUPLE wants to know how you see the outcome. Closest to the total score gets a gift certificate to...wait for it...Panera Bread! Here are our picks...

Paul
UK 20 -UofL 10 (OK, bring on the hate e-mails. I hope I'm wrong but Stein isn't the answer, unless you're in Germany drinking beer.)

Sonja
UofL 14- UK 13 (Charlie's been slow-playing this one perfectly. The streak ends for UK)

David Watson
UK 33 - Louisville 28 (Cards blow a 4th quarter lead to the delight of Big Blue Nation)

Tommy Boy
UofL 24 - UK 21 (Vic finds his groove.)

Bill the Goat
UK 10 - UofL 7 (I'll be grazing in the parking area near the West Entrance - stop by!)

Send your predicition to: cardinalcouple@insightbb.com by 7 p.m. Saturday and we'll announce and contact the winner Sunday. Be sure to give us a way to contact you...e-mail or phone #. Good luck and GO CARDS!

ifyoucanreadthisuhavereachedtheendoftodayscolumn

Schimmel invited to USA Basketball U19 World Championship Tryouts.

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FRIDAY @ C.C.

The freshman Louisville guard will compete in the tryouts
with UofL target Bria Smith

-Shoni one of 35 invited to tryout camp

-Women's Golf 10th after East Regional 1st round.

Lady Card freshman guard Shoni Schimmel has been invited to the USA Basketball U19 World Championship Team Trials. She'll compete with 34 other invitees from May 22-25 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. The training camp for the team begins June 1st. at the ESPN Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, FL. They'll play an exhibition game against the Brazil U19 team on June 5th, which will be shown online at ESPN3.

Other invitees out of the 35 headed to the tryouts include Cardinal target Bria Smith, Bria Hartley (UConn), Odyssey Sims (Baylor), Alyssa Thomas (Maryland) and Meighan Simmons (Tennessee).

Schimmel was second leading scorer for the Cards in the 2010-11 season with 15.1 points a game. She was named first team Freshman All-American by Full Court Press and was on the BIG EAST All-Freshman team. She'll be the subject of the documentary film "Off the Rez" which will be shown on TLC on Saturday May 14th.

Sounds like a busy summer for the former Umatilla Reservation resident. If selected, she'd play in games in Chile from July 21-31.  A great honor and opportunity for "Showtime" and the UofL women's basketball team.

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Anna-Karin Ljungstrom was even par
until the 13th hole yesterday.

Sara-Maude Juneau fired a first round 72 to lead the Cards to a 10th place standing in the NCAA East Regional at the LPGA International Golf Course in Daytona Beach, FL. The Cards shot a 301 total and are 15 strokes back of leader Coastal Carolina after Day 1.  Sophomore Anna-Karin Ljungstrom carded a 75 for Louisville and is tied for 39th place.  Junior Maria Castellanos had a 76, Laura Anderson took 78 strokes...hindered by a triple bogey on the fourth hole. Tara Lyons finished with a 79...victim of a triple bogey on the #14th hole.

The top eight team in the region advance to the NCAA Championship on May 18-21 at the Traditions Club in Bryan, TX.

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Happy Oaks Day to all our readers!

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Softball splits in South Bend...Lacrosse wins...Women's golf in third

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

Anna-Karin Lljungstrom shot a
76 in the first round of the
BIG EAST Championships.

-Cards split with Irish in Softball

-Lacrosse dominates Villanova

-Golf 3rd in BIG EAST Tournament

UofL softball split with Notre Dame yesterday in a doubleheader in South Bend. The Cards narrowly dropped the first contest 4-3 and won the second 9-6.

Notre Dame 4 - Louisville 3

The Cards jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first when Chelsea Bemis doubled home Katie Keller. Notre Dame rallied in the second inning to go up 2-1 but the Cards regained the lead in the top of the third when Keller blasted a two run base clearer with Hannah Kiyohara on base...freshman power again...Louisville held the 3-2 advantage. After the Irish tied it in the bottom of the third...a solo home run off of Caralisa Connell...they tacked on the winning run in the fourth. Louisville had two base runners in the fifth and seventh innings...but could not push across the tying run.

Connell took the loss, going to 18-6. She allowed all four runs on six hits and fanned two in 5.1 innings. Tori Collins came in to finish...striking out one and allowing a hit in 1.2 innings of relief.

Louisville 9 - Notre Dame 6

Louisville fell behind early in the nightcap...a solo homer in the first gave the Irish a 1-0 advantage over starter Tori Collins. Katie Petrino relieved her in the circle and allowed two more Notre Dame runs in the third. She lasted until the sixth inning, when the Irish sent three more base runners across the plate and built a 6-0 advantage,

Chelsea Bemis hit a three run
homer against Notre Dame on
Sunday. Bye, bye Mr. Spalding!

The Cards had not conceded defeat, though.

In the top of the sixth, A Chelsea Bemis three run homer scored Kiyohara and Keller. Colby Wherry followed with a single run blast. Alicja Wolny and Maggie Ruckenbrod reached on base hits and Kristin Austin drove home Wolny to make it 6-5. Kiyohara batted for the second time in the inning and drove in Ruckenbrod and Austin to make it 7-6 Cards. Keller smashed a two run fence clearer to increase it to 9-6.

Collins re-entered the game as pitcher in the bottom of the sixth and shut out the Irish in two innings of relief. For Petrino, it was her first win as a Cardinal. She allowed five runs on seven hits...with one strike out. Collins got the save, her third of the season, allowing one run on two hits.

Louisville travels to Lexington next for a Wednesday night game vs. Kentucky.

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Bergan Foley scored four goals
against Villanova

Louisville lacrosse took a win yesterday at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium over Villanova 16-4 Sunday. The Cards outscored the Wildcats 9-1 in the first half...putting eight straight goals in the net to break an early 1-1 tie. They also scored the first two goals in the second half. During the 10-0 run, Bergan Foley and Liz Lovejoy each had three scores. Katie Oliverio found the net twice and Nikki Boltja and Lianne Bobal added a goal each. 

The Cards outscored the Wildcats 7-3 in the second stanza. Louisville shot an impressive 16 for 26 on goals attempted and forced the Wildcats into 26 turnovers. 

Foley and Lovejoy each finished with four goals in the game. The Cards (10-4, 2-2) improved to a tie for fourth place in BIG EAST conference standings and take to the road for their next two...a Thursday contest at Syracuse and a Saturday face-off in Connecticut against the Huskies. 

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Sara-Maude Juneau shot an opening round 75 and the Louisville women's golf team finds themselves in third place in the BIG EAST Championships...13 strokes behind Notre Dame. The Cards are are one stroke behind Georgetown. Anna-Karin Lljungstrom carded a 76 for 18 holes and Laura Anderson finished the first round with a 77... good for 12th place. Tara Lyons' 80 and Maria Castellanos' 82 were the other Cardinal efforts on the first day. 

The Cards tee it up again today, beginning at 9:40 a.m. Becca Huffer, of Notre Dame, leads all participants with her 72...even par. Straight and long down the fairways, ladies and chip and putt!

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Women's golf 14th after two rounds in Columbus

Sara-Maude Juneau fired an 80 on windy Otter Creek golf course to remain in the top twenty golfers as Day 2 competition concluded in the NCAA Central Regionals in Columbus, IN. Juneau has a two day total of 154 and is in 17th place headed into the final round Saturday.

Freshman Anna-Karin Ljungstrom had the best round of the day for the Cards with a 77. She has a two day total of 158. She is tied for 38th with Laura Anderson..who finished the day with an 84. Daphine Parker and Candice Wiley are further back with two day scores of 170. Wiley toured the eighteen with an 83 Friday and Parker shot an 84.

Louisville needs low scores in today's final round from their top four golfers if they are to climb to 8th place and qualify for the NCAA Championships in Wilmington, NC. The Cards will tee it up at 12:30 Saturday afternoon.

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Much has been said lately about the involvement of basketball AAU coaches and the "brokering" of their performers to college coaches and the handling of certain things for the recruits families. The issue concerns mostly men's college basketball but sometimes it drifts into the women's game. Maya Moore and UConn drew a little press a few years back when it was alleged that Moore received improper benefits while being recruited by the Huskies...including a tour of the ESPN studios in Bristol, CT.

It is a dubious relationship for these AAU coaches...who probably work more with the kids on Select and other all-star teams than their high school coaches do. I recently spoke with a former high school assistant coach who flat out told me...

"We only get these players 5 months a year at best. A lot of them play all year round and their AAU coaches don't have nearly the restrictions or limitations enforced upon them that we do as academic institutions. I've been involved in situations where we are coaching our tails off in the huddle during timeouts at games and the AAU coach of a kid is up there in the stands shouting out to the kid to do something different when we break from the huddle. The relationship with some of these kids and AAU ball starts way before they become freshmen in high school. I can guarantee you that a former UofL men's basketball recruit was basically shopped around thru the AAU guys and the kid's parents to several institutions before they got the deal they wanted from one of the schools. The kid ended up going there, and it wasn't Louisville... and having a pretty good four years. Pure coincidence, I'm sure...but the kid's dad ended up with a new job at probably twice the pay he was making before the kid went to college."

So, parents...in addition to encouraging your son or daughter to hone their sport skills...you might also want to brush up on your collective bargaining skills and buy a trench coat and wide brimmed hat. The good thing is that it will probably never infiltrate women's sports to any major degree. The bad thing is that it will probably continue to grow in men's athletics until the NCAA comes down with great vengance on the snake oil salesmen and dream weavers out there in the bushes posing as AAU handlers and coaches.

Written by Paul
5/8/10

Cardinal women's golf in Central Regional

Anna-Karin Ljungstrom carded an 81 during the first round of the NCAA Central Regionals at Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, IN. She overcame a rough front nine to finish with 7 straight pars.

The Cards are in 13th position out of 24 teams participating in the regional tournament, They totaled a 315...led by Laura Anderson and Sara-Maude Juneau, who fired 74's to finish 2 over par for the 18 holes. Daphine Parker made the tour with a 86 and Candace Wiley finished with an 87.

Louisvile is vying to finish in the top eight and advanace to the NCAA Championship. Play continues Friday for the Cards, who are 18 strokes behind front runner Arizona State.

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Cardinal softball ends the regular season with a weekend series at Connecticut. The Cards are in third place in the Big East and will face a Husky squad currently tied for eight and needing to beat the Cards to gain a spot in the Big East tournament.

Louisville will host the three day Big East showdown beginning next Thursday.

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Mum is still the word on Portland, OR. combo guard Shoni Schimmel's college selection. Schimmel was expected to make her announcement in early May and it was believed that she might break the news Wednesday but, so far...no word out of the Franklin High School standout.

CARDINAL COUPLE is monitoring the situation and will break into your regularly scheduled internet surfing with any updates. Things always seem to come in twos or three around the late signing period and we're also monitoring any other news that may affect the Lady Cards.

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We are the proud hosts of a cardinal bird nest in our front hedges at the house. It's quite fun to sit in the den where our computer is and look out the front window early in the morning to watch the hustle and bustle of mama and papa cardinal flitting around the yard. They keep a lively duel going with the mockingbirds that have a nest in one of our blue spruces. Throw in a couple of energetic squirrels and two territory protecting Yorkies and you have "Sonja Zoo." Free admission and fun for all. Just be careful when walking the premises... mockingbirds love to swoop down upon unsuspecting visitors and remind them that this is their turf and they will protect their house.

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Have you been to the Cardinal Couple-Cardinal Dominance message boards lately? Shannon has done a wonderful job creating a place for all fans to talk UofL women's sports, baseball, football and whatever topic you are interested in. Follow the link for Cardinal Dominance at the top of our home page or go to www.cardinaldominance.net



Written by Sonja
5/6/10

Women's Golf wins Big East Championship

Sara-Maude Juneau fired a closing round 75 to finish as the low scorer in the three day event. She dusted the competition by six shots...finishing with a three day total of 220. It is the junior's first Big East title.

The Cards finished strong in the Big East Championship, carding a 304 for the final day, good enough to defeat runner up USF by eight stokes. Notre Dame took third place. Anna-Karin Ljungstrom matched Juneau's 75 in the third round for the Cards, who captured their 4th Big East title.

Freshman Candace Wiley knocked the ball around 80 times in the finale for Louisville and Laura Anderson, who had to withdraw from round two with a sore wrist, came back Tuesday to end with a 80 also. Daphine Parker shot a 74 for the Cards Tuesday.

All five golfers return next season for Louisville, who advances to the NCAA Regionals. Juneau. Parker and Ljungstrom were selected to the Big East 1st team Squad.

The Cards led from day 1 in the Big East Championship and gave head coach Kelly Meyers-Rothberg her fourth Big East title. A UConn women's basketball type dominance for Louisville on the links.

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Softball at Ulmer Stadium Wednesday with a doubleheader against the Syracuse Orange. First game is 1 p.m. and if you can't make the action, it will be televised on ESPNU.

Syracuse (23-17, 7-4) comes to Louisville in possesion of third place in the Big East standings. The Cards (27-14, 6-5) could leapfrog the Orange in the standings with a sweep of today's games.

Melissa Roth continues swinging the hot bat for Sandy Pearsall's team, with a .455 average and 14 home runs. Four Cardinals are batting over .300 so far this season. Louisville leads the all time series against Syracuse 8-1 and have never lost to them in Ulmer Stadium.

Cardinal pitchers Kristen Wadwell, Tori Collins and Chelsea Leonard have tossed 272 strikeouts this year.

Why not make it a bat and ball day? The weather is calling and you can head over to Patterson Stadium after the doubleheader to catch the guys in 6 p.m. action against WKU.

Written by Sonja
4/21/10